Oliberte Footwear Narivo Dark Green Suede Shoe Review

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Oliberte Footwear company is not an average company because their manufacturing facilities aren’t in India, China, or the United States. They are in Africa. The idea behind the company and their mission is pretty simple to understand. They want to create jobs that stimulate and help support a healthy middle class economy in Africa. They source their materials from all over Africa, they pay their employees a fair and middle class wage and they market their shoes all over. These are higher end shoes made out of real materials (not cleverly made fake man made stuff). They are well constructed and look pretty awesome.

Most of the gear ranges from $70-$250 US and can purchased online. The Oliberte Footwear Narivo Dark Green Suede Shoes we are testing out are a casual men’s loafer. They have a traditional stichdown around base, premium dark green suede leather upper, 100% goat leather dark brown lining, vegetable tanned leather midsole, and natural crepe rubber outsole with a wedge. They are made in Ethiopia by hand by people that are trying to build an entire middle class economy. For $95 you can pick them up on their website, the sizing is a little smallish – I wasn’t able to find any size 13 – 14 shoes, but if you are US 11 or under you should be able to find what you are looking for. I’m not sure if the reason I couldn’t find a larger shoe was due to a real time inventory (they were simply out of stock) of if they don’t offer them. Their sizing chart seems to indicate that you can purchase shoes up to size 13, so it is likely they were out of stock.

Looking at the quality of these shoes I have to give them 5 out of 5 star rating. They are really excellent, the quality is very good, and it is an opportunity to help folks out. These would make an excellent gift for Father’s Day and that is why they are in our 2013 Father’s Day Gift List.